Title: Static
Summary: To flee the chaos at home, Robin decides to spend the afternoon at the Tower and ends up learning a little more about his teammate. KonxTim friendship.
Complete: 05/03/2014
"Recognized: Robin B-2-0." The 15-year-old Robin waited for the light of the Zeta tube to die down, before walking further into the Hall of Justice. Despite the Team's collective desire to be members of the League, the orbiting Tower had simply become too crowded. 40+ members being there on a regular basis had made the permanent residents uncomfortable.
As a compromise, Batman Inc. and Q-Core had paid for renovations to the Hall of Justice on Earth. There were now four basement floors, including a living space, two dormitory floors, and a training ground—still smaller than the Tower and Mountain, but better than constantly tripping over people.
Robin walked into the back room, through the "League Members Only" door, and patiently waited for the elevator to carry him down to the so-called "YJL House".
Only when he stepped out of the elevator and into the living space, did the young detective finally relax.
Not only was the Tower crowded, but so was the Bat-cave.
Bruce was away on League business, leaving Nightwing and Alfred in charge. Batgirl had slept over at the house for the last 3 nights –despite not living there- and had spent them fighting with the first Boy Wonder about absolutely anything she could think of. If he knew why the female vigilante was attacking him, Nightwing certainly didn't let on.
He wanted nothing more than to steal Nightwing away for patrol, but apparently Batgirl wouldn't leave until the eldest Bat-boy had apologized for whatever wrong he had done her—not that she would tell him what it was. That would be too easy.
Of course, because of Batgirl, the acrobat was too distracted to notice that Little D and his stupid demonic dog were delving into their homicidal tendencies again.
Tim had tried hiding in his room, but that only helped so much when the 20 year old's room –the one of which he was fighting with the red-headed Bat in- was beside his own.
Thank God for Alfred. He had finally suggested that the second youngest member of the Bat-family visit his friends and escape the madness. He had felt a bit guilty for leaving the old butler there on his own to contain the storm that was an irate Barbara Gordon, but quickly decided that he needed a few hours of quiet for the sake of his mental health.
He glanced around the room briefly before starting over to the couch. Only Superboy seemed to be around.
"Hey Kon," he greeted his friend quietly, leaning over the back of the couch.
"Hey," he grunted back. As usual, the Superman clone was sitting on the couch, listening to the near silent static as monochromatic pixels danced across the screen.
Robin glanced at the blue eyed boy from the corner of his eye momentarily before leaping over the Chesterfield (the one M'gann just had to have) and landing with a bounce on the cushions.
"Anyone around?" he asked idly, still keeping his voice down. He wasn't a fan speaking loudly, and Kon had super hearing anyway, so he could use his 'inside voice'. A rare treat given how... vivacious the life around him seemed to be lately.
"Kaldur and La'gaan are in Atlantis, M'gann is at the park with Garfield and Bart's visiting Jaime." Tim just nodded and stared up at the TV.
It was an impressive televison—4000 high definition pixels in every one of the 72" stretched across the wall. The ever practical side of the sometimes-sidekick was often tempted to complain that it was a wasted on his best friend. Kon rarely watched broadcasted TV or movies unless someone else was already doing so. He just stared at the static with the sound almost muted for hours on end—and had since he'd joined the team, according to Nightwing. It was just one of his quirks.
"Kon," the young detective started, "what's with the white noise?"
There was a long pause, wherein Kon continued to stare at the TV—albeit with narrowed eyes. He was thinking. Robin had no problem waiting for him to answer though. He grabbed the remote from the half Kryptonian's lap and turned the sound on the television up a couple of notches. If the white noise was going to be there, he may as well listen to it too.
He'd been complaining for 3 days that it was too loud to think at home. Now that he was here, it was too quiet. Before he could set it down, Superboy put his much larger hand over the 15 year old's, startling him.
"When I was with Cadmus, they used Genomes to teach me. For hours and days on end, I would hear their voices whispering in the back of my mind; but even they needed to rest sometimes." Robin was absolutely silent as his friend spoke—he didn't even breathe. Kon didn't share much about his time with Cadmus—not even with Robin himself, Impulse, or Blue Beetle: his squad. "When they rested, that sound... 'white noise', filled in the time that they weren't talking." He paused again, narrowing his eyes even further in thought. He was having difficulty articulating himself. "It's... peaceful."
Robin could tell he had given up trying to explain himself any further—it happened often enough; but he had learned a lot about his friend in the few words he had managed to get out.
When Batman had gotten Little D (as Nightwing insisted the youngest Bat be called) his puppy, Alfred had put a clock in the pet's bed so he could hear something akin to a heartbeat at nights. It stopped him from whining incessantly as he had done the first night home. It helped the puppy to not feel so lonely.
The white noise helped comfort Kon in the same way.
Tim just smirked and relaxed against the soft couch, listening to the white noise with his friend.
As if planned, the other residents of the Hall arrived home at about the same time. They discussed their days with each other as they moved through their home.
"What's wrong?" Garfield inquired when Kaldur held his hand out to stop his friends from moving forward. M'gann peered over his shoulder before weaving around him and towards the couch.
Why was the static on if Conner wasn't—
As she approached the couch, an endearing smile broke across her face. She levitated a blanket from the chair over to the couch and laid it across the boys. Impulse rushed over to stand beside M'gann, being too impatient to wait and see what was happening. A fond smile spread across his face as well.
Robin's arm was tossed over his eyes with his glasses in his other hand across his stomach, and Kon's arms were crossed over his steadily rising and falling chest. Each of their heads were on an opposite arm rest and their legs tangled together in the couch's middle, lulled to sleep by the static.